488 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



Granger Roads. Western railroads. This term was 

 originally applied in Wall street to the Chicago and 

 Northwestern, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. 

 Paul roads, but is now employed on Stock Exchanges to 

 designate those railroads which handle principally farm 

 produce. 



Gross. Whole ; entire ; total ; specifically without de- 

 duction, as for damage or waste material ; without al- 

 lowance of tare, opposed to net, as gross sum or amount, 

 gross profits, income or weight. 



Guaranty. An engagement to be responsible for the 

 debts or duties of a third person. 



Guarantor. A warrantor. 



Guaranteed Stock, Stocks of leased or subsidiary 

 company guaranteed by the principal company. 



Habeas Corpus. A writ of right for those who are 

 grieved by illegal imprisonment. The Habeas Corpus 

 Act is next in importance to Magna Charta, for, so long 

 as this statute remains, no subject of England can long 

 be detained in prison, except linder legal process. 



1 1 :i ix-iul ii in. One of the formal parts of a deed : its 

 office is to limit or define the estate granted. It is so 

 called because it begins with the words " to have." 



Harbor. A place of rest or safety for ships ; a port for 

 loading and unloading. 



Heir. The legal representative of his ancestor, with 

 respect to the real property of such ancestor. He takes 

 all the real property not otherwise disposed of by the 

 ancestor in his lifetime or by his will. 



Heir Apparent. Is one whose right of inheritance 

 is certain, and which nothing can defeat, provided he 



outlives his ancestor; as the eldest son or issue. Heir 

 presumptive is one who would inherit, provided his an- 

 cestor were to die at that particular time, but whose 

 right of inheritance might be defeated by some nearer 

 heir being afterwards born ; as a brother or nephew, 

 whose presumptive succession may be destroved by the 

 birth of a child. 



Heirlooms. Such personal chattels as go to the heir 

 along with the inheritance, and not to the executor of 

 the deceased.. 



Hereditaments. All things which may be inherited, 

 that is, which would descend to the heir, if not disposed 

 of by deed or will. Hereditaments are of two kinds, 

 corporeal and incorporeal.. 



Hedge. The operation called hedging by speculators 

 is practically the same as straddling, though the terms 

 are not synonymous. Traders hedge to avert a loss and 

 straddle for a profit. 



High Seas. Waters of the ocean outside of the 

 jurisdiction of any country. 



Homicide. The crime "of killing any human being ; 

 of which there are three kinds justifiable, excusable, 

 and felonious. 



Honor. To accept and pay when due. 



Hue and Cry. The old common law process of 

 pursuing felons " with horn and voice." Also, the 

 name of a paper now circulated amongst the police 

 containing the names and description of felons. 



Hypothecate. 



goods, or either, for necessaries, which a master of a 

 ship may do when i 



dented ; now the name usually given to deeds, although 

 indenting is no longer essential. 



Indictment. A written accusation of one or more 

 persons, of a crime or misdemeanor, preferred to, and 

 presented on oath, by a grand jury. 



Indorsement. Anything written on the back of a 

 deed or other instrument ; such as a bill of exchange. 



Infant. Every person is by the law styled an infant 

 till he has attained the age of twenty-one years. 



Inheritance. An estate in lands or tenements to a 

 man and his heirs. 



Injunction. A prohibitory writ granted by the 

 Court of Chancery forbidding certain acts to be" done 

 under pain of contempt. It may be granted in urgent 

 cases ex parte, but notice is sometimes required to be 

 given. 



Inquest. A meeting of jurors, who are summoned tc 

 take into consideration certain matters, which may ap- 

 pear in evidence before them, and to bring in then 



verdict accordingly. 

 Inquiry (writ of). 



A writ directed to the sheriff, 



commanding him to summon a jury and assess the 

 damages in an action ; as, for instance, when the de- 

 fendant has suffered judgment by default. 



Insolvency. The state of a person who is unable to 

 pay his debts. 



Insurance. A security or indemnification against 

 the risk of loss from the happening of certain events. 

 The usual kinds are fire and marine. 



Interpleader. When two or more persons claim the 

 same thing of a third, the latter may call upon them to 



Ignore. When the grand jury reject a bill of indict- 

 ment, they are said to ignore it, from the Latin word 

 ignoramus. 



Illegal Condition. A condition annexed to any- 

 thing which is illegal, immoral, impossible, or other- 

 wise contrary to law. 



Immoral Contracts. Contracts infringing the rules 

 of morality which, for reasons of public policy, are void 

 at law. 



Impaneling. Writing in a parchment schedule the 

 names of the jury by the sheriff. 



Import. To bring from another country. 



Importer. One who brings goods from abroad. 



Impost. Duty on goods paid by the importer. 



Incorporeal Hereditaments. Hereditaments of a 

 non-tangible nature, and consisting of rights or bene- 



fits issuing out of corporal or tangible things, as a 

 rent, an advowson, etc. 



Incumbent. The present possessor of an ecclesias- 

 tical benefice. 



Incnmbrance. A charge or lien upon property, as a 

 mortgage. 



Indemnity. A written instrument whereby one un- 

 dertakes to free another from responsibility. 



Indenture. A deed or writing, formerly cut or in- 



interplead, i. e., to try the right to it between them- 

 selves | he, the third person, retaining possession of the 

 thing in the meantime, as a kind of stakeholder. 



Interrogatories. Written questions to which the 

 parties interrogated are to give written answers on oath. 



Intestate. A person dying without a will, or, hav- 

 ing made a will, without appointingan executor thereof. 



Innuendo. That part of the declaration, in actions of 

 libel and slander, which explains the meaning, or points 

 the application, of the libelous or slanderous matter 

 complained of. 



In Re. In the matter of. 



Installment. Part of a sum of money paid or to be 

 paid from time to time. 



Interest. The use of money; premium paid for the 

 use of money. 



Investment. The laying out of money in the pur- 

 chase of property. 



Inventory. A list of goods. 



Invoice. A list of goods bought or sold, or consigned. 



In Sight. Said of stocks of grain, cotton, coffee, or 

 other merchandise, available for immediate use. Grain 

 stored in private warehouses, or held by producers, is 

 not usually included in the supply " in sight." 



Inspection. Grain received at Chicago is inspected 

 and graded by sworn inspectors under rules established 

 by the Board of Railroad and Warehouse ("onimission- 

 rs, appointed by the state of Illinois. From this in- 



, . spection, if not s"atisfactorv, an appeal mav be taken to 



5 EfnT, n L a J^T a " C .! the Inspection Committee of the Board of Trade. In 



other states similar laws exist. 



I. O. U. A written acknowledgment of a debt. This 

 instrument is regarded in a court of law as evidence of 

 an account stated. It is not a promissory note and does 

 not require a stamp. 



Issue. The disputed point or question to which the 

 parties in an action have, by pleading, narro\ved their 

 several allegations, anil are hence said to join issue. If 

 it be an issue of fact, it is tried by a jury, if of law, by 

 the court. Issue is also the legal't^rm for children or 

 remoter descendants. 



Jettison. A voluntary throwing of goods overboard 

 at sea in a storm to lighten the ship. 



Joinder in Action. The coupling or joining tw 

 parties in one suit or action. 



Joint Tenants. Persons who hold lands, etc., jointly 

 by one title. On the death of one the survivor take- the 

 whole. 



Jointure. A settlement of lands or tenements on a 



wpman, to take effect after her husband's death in lieu 

 of dower. 



Journal. A book used to classify and arrange busi- 

 ness transactions. 



Judgment. The sentence of the law pronounced by 

 the court upon the matter contained in the record. 



Jury. A certain number of men sworn to deliver a 

 verdict upon such evidence of facts as shall be delivered 

 to them, touching the matter in question. 



